₦airaland Forum

Being a member of a church - say - isn't a sufficient condition to conclude that one is religious.

One could attend a church every Sunday and still be freethinking.
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It is possible - strictly - to be formally one of Jehovah's Witnesses and be freethinking.

Being a member of a religion by itself doesn't preclude being a freeethinker.

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Docjay487:
If you're JW, I don't hate you , was once one of you(not officially though).

Well . . . if not officially, then you certainly weren't one . . .

A point to note: JWs have an explanantion for the 'inspiration' (in their publications) as compared to that of the bible. But, these sources are interesting, as are tons of JW assertions and prophecies.

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Ogaga4Luv:
[size=13pt]^{Thanks to the almighty Satan i need no bleeping Christian Church (s) on Sundays like this or weekly days .} [/size]

Your assesment of Mr. Satan as almighty is suspect; it certainly isn't objective!
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toba:
Though i know God answers prayers but the speed of how i got result of my prayers couple of weeks ago is amazing. I prayed about something regarding an assignment at work and God answered my request. same would be executed next week. Our God is good

It's amazing how our God is then slow to respond to the urgent prayers of black Christians in Sudan praying - notto perform well at work - but to stay alive. I hate to suggest a misplacement of priorities.

Is it Christian for Christians in Nigeria not to share the grief of Christians in Sudan?

Or, heck, what about Christians who were recently devastated by floods in Nigeria? Swift answers to their desperate prayers? Guess not. Why not?

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You misunderstand the reasons for going to church . . . In any case:

1) Oyedepo confirmed this morning that even ordinary members of his church steal: they steal bibles to check if there's money in them. . . he also noted that some ushers are dishonest; church members steal during church service. Oyedepo's curious thesis is that this is due to the lure of 'the god of money'

2) Church these days offer almost free entertainment: it was entertaining to listen to Oyedepo today adavncing the argument that his Covenant University is #1 in Nigeria.

To your point:

The pastors condone the nonsense of payers of tithes and donors of offerings:Ibori in Adeboye's church, that Intercontinental bank big shot (I forget his name) who's also a top shot in Adeboye's church, etc etc; the Church serves a purpose other than making people change; business is booming.

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Jesus was a Jew; certainly, he did look like the Jews of his days.

His dad was Jewish; his mum was Jewish.

It's highly unlikely he was black;

Painting a black Jesus would be a manifestation of a certain kind of 'complex'.
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Well, this is good, isn't it?

Church members donated the funds;
Church members have lots of cars;
Church members need car parking spaces;
Church buys from landlords on the street to build car park;
Residents can have some peace and space on Sundays and other days.
Italian firm pays tax on earnings to the LASG.

Good stuff; no?

Only members of the Governing Body (GB) of Jehovah's Witnesss are allowed to think freely.

The remainder (some 7million+) must propagate what is approved by the GB.

The above assessment isn't cynical.

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maxpro-xl:just read some of your submissions. It appears you two have ended your relationship,  it also appears there's an ethnic dimension to her mum's refusal to give her blessings; these complicate matters; the family does matter, but the lady matters most; it is difficult to understand her full relationship to the JW religion with the information you've provided; her rlationship with the JW religion is crucial for an understanding of her actions.

But I write to point out something else: one must be careful not to level untrue allegations against JWs. Here're a few from your list, including other notes.

Regarding your post #10:
- Items #1,2, 3, 4, 5 are untrue to different degrees.
- #50 is untrue. It is true that certain fields of study are 'discouraged'; it is untrue to say they are banned.
- #105 is not exactly true.
- Many of the items are not unique to JWs.

- JWs do believe in the resurrection.
- A JW could (under some circumstances), attend a non-JW 'church'.
- You're correct JWs are not allowed to donate blood (they also are not allowed to accept transfusions of blood; a JW could also not reuse his/her own blood if it exits the/'a' circulatory system; blood leaving the circulatory system must be discarded; there's an exception to this, ); but they do use products from donated blood.

The status/history of the lady with respect to JWs is important in understanding her true situation (see item (1) to (3) in the previous post.

maxpro-xl: I'm coming late to your thread, but will nevertheless offer some words. If I go over ground already covered, you could point that out if you elect to respond.

First, clear up some ambiguities. You wrote that your fiancee 'believes in the religion'; this is ambiguous.
1) Has she ever been baptised as a Jehovah's Witness?
2) If yes: is she in 'good standing', or disfellowshipped, or inactive, or other?
3) If no: is she 'studying' to get baptised? If yes, what book is she studying at this time?

Her 'status' as a JW is not unimportant; it is important to define it clearly and unambiguously.

You wrote:

am a working class single and she just graduated in july 2011 and due for NYSC early 2012. we got engaged in april 2011 and she moved into my house on april 6th. we lived under the same roof(only us, no other person in the flat) for 5-months(April 2011 - August 2011). l lived with my fiancee for 5-months and she never followed me to church for one day. 5-MONTHS MAKES UP 20-SUNDAYS. can u imagine. she left for her parents house on Sept 2nd in ogun state to persuade her mum to accept a church wedding & that her relatives can attend the reception. the mum didnt accept.

4) The above is atypical of a JW; ordinarily, what you describe above is enough to get her excommunicated (disfellowshipped is the JW term) if she is a JW in 'good standing'. If she is disfellowshipped, this would 'worsen' her move towards reinstatement; if she is studying to be baptised as a JW, this ought to delay her baptism. So, we're back to items (1) - (3) above: what exactly is her status.

5) You probably shouldn't be surprised that she didn't follow you to church. JWs are not 'conventional' Christians. They believe they're the only true Christians, and that all other Christians are on the wrong path (to destruction); they believe all Christian organisations (except theirs) are part of 'Christendom': disapproved by God, and destined for destruction. People who start to 'study' the bible with JWs usually start to believe the same things (your lady's situation is not inexplicable since her mother is a JW). It is difficult to successfully argue with a JW without having a deep understanding of the religion.

6) From what you describe, your lady appears to be at a crossroads. This isn't unusual. If she could be influenced by information, then you could engage her if you wish. It could be challenging making a happy family if both of you feel very strongly about your beliefs, but I wouldn't suggest/advice that you end a relationship based on the events you've described. Your lady has shown clear signs of independence; this is important; it is not trivial.

7) The 'standing'/'status' of your lady is crucial to understanding her mum's behaviour. I am unable to offer useful comments on her mum's behaviour at this time (actually, one could; but one's comments would make more sense when one has come to a better understanding), but this: understand this having a 'church wedding' (meaning a non-JW 'church' wedding) could mean that many of her mum's friends and acquaintances may not be able to attend; 'may'; the situation is dependent on the history of your lady's association with Jehovah's Witnesses.

Cheers.

Jehovah's witnesses (JWs) pretend their religion is 'hard', thatis: it has rules more stringent thanall other religions; this is usually a prelude to concluding that only exceptional people could truly be part of their religion.

This reasoning is self-serving, and untrue.

Even with their extensive rules on sex and s.exual matters, tens of thousands (the last statistic I recall quotes 40,000) are excommunicated yearly for s.exual offences. Add to that the p.edophile scandals the JW top hierarchy have spent tons of $ to cover up. These p.edophile scandals have been public in the US; the situation in less democratic countries could only be imagined.

The JW religion has been described as a paradise for p.edophiles; this characterisation is not an exaggeration.

frosbel: nice opening gambit . . .

One: it is unlikely that you studied with the JWs for only 'a couple of months'

Two: you must know that most JWs are immune to logical reasoning, unless sanctioned by the governing body (in Brooklyn or wherever they are now)

Three: your cause isn't lost yet: any JW engaging in these discussions online is already disobeying the god of the GB; so there's hope that your message would get across

The JW religion is a most hypocritical strain of Chritianity; a group of men holding hostage up to 7 million devotees, feeding them with propaganda in several meetings every week. They believe they're the only true Christians, and hope to inherit the earth when their tribal Hebrew god destroys the rest of us. These people deserve some compassion; yet, some hard knocks could sometimees be useful.

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You're correct.

Jesus said '. . . you will be witnesses of me . . . '

JWs will however quote someplace in the so-called 'old testament' where the Hebrew/Israelite tribal god said: '. . . You are my witnesses . . . '

This discussion is not unimportant; but getting across to a JW on a doctrinal matter difficult; all the teachings of loyal JWs have to be sanctioned by their governing boby (GB) in the US; this GB is a men's only club (women cannot be leaders amongst JWs).

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Good to declare his assets.

Now, could he please tell something about taxes he's paid? Surely, these should have some correspondence to his assets?

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spyder880:
^^^ ha! Which means I under calculated? I was using 3ft per meter? You see! Anyway we are waiting for Oga Ajileko to teach us, me am always humble and ready to learn.

Exactly: your fence is cheaper than you made it appear.

But: these numbers work out to N1861/ft (for Ajileko) vs N3125/ft (spyder) : same height assumed

This is a large difference, and it's almost immediately obvious the reason would be due to design/quality/materials, or perhaps a gross underestimation or some other 'mstake' . . .

spyder: how did you arrive at 60 x 150 sq.ft. for a 20m by 50m plot?

The plot is more like 66 x 164 sq.ft., (or 60 x ~ 180 sq. ft) not 60 x150 sq.ft.

Yet, this does not explain the N670K vs. about N1.5m

In any case, a picture of Ajileko's gate (plus some deatils) could help clarify.

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That's 1870: Papal infallibility declared in 1870.

Papal Infallibility is a myth, and one that has cost - in the case of condoms - millions of lives.

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90 feet?

Can't imagine what his wee thing would then have been.

Hmnn, that Eve! Tough woman.

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Chris made it good on his congregation.

He's not a robber, only a smooth-talking con man.

We wouldn't mind if he paid taxes on his earnings.

Quite an inattentive reporter!

Should have asked Mr. Ukpai what Jesus Christ looked like!

Didn't.

Failed interview.

Just go and read Songs of Solomon in the bible.

And fast-forward 2000+ years,

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They will get her, because her hands are not clean.

This woman has failed to learn one thing: to eat with devils, you need a very very long spoon.

You also need to be above board, completely - completely - clean, and avoid any appearance of corruption.

Unfortunately, Okonjo-Iweala has not done all these.

Obasanjo - an unbelievanle corrupt pilitician - sacked her; she didn't protest much; now she's back. She's become one of them. Too bad.

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"naijaking1" - excellent observation there; excellent.

Employing the prevailing corruption in Nigeria as a crutch for the violence we're witnessing is not only logically wrong, it exhibits a defient morality. You should've listened to the rest of it. Bakare is a good orator, and his oratorial skills could be useful in the revolution he is urging. He's also a pastor, so he has a section of Nigeria covered, that is, those who don't hate him already. He's also courting the Far North; in this 'Idiot Speech' he sticks his neck out for Buhari's innocence in the violence.

But he could be a useful tool; he's speaking some truth, much more we could say for the likes of Pastors Adeboye and Oyedepo. How Adeboye continues to maintain the respect of otherwise intelligent people should be amazing; it isn't.

naijaking1:
"You cannot divorce violence from corruption", that's where I stopped, and I remembered Buhari saying the same thing as a political jab at GEJ and PDP. We all agree about the sinful nature of corruption, however using corruption to justify Boko Haram activities is not right, even if you lost the election.

Shameless universities.

Quiz competitions, universities?

Hmnn; na wah o.

This tool, Fani-Kayode is here defending one of his paymasters against the other.

What a shameless piece of something unworthy.

So what if Mr. Babangida installed Mr. Obasanjo as president? They're both not completely bad; but they've both contributed to Nigeria's woes, and that Babangida much more than anyone else. This uneducated coup plotter, statesman wannabe, complusive thief of state coffers now seeks greatness. The Fani-Kayodes (and other irresponsible write-for-brown-envelope media people) contibue to ingratiate themselves with failed soldiers and useless politicians. Shame.

Spit.

It's doable with an understanding wife.

But, first: will the madam be working too or not?

And, consider planning, not only 'family planning', but planning in everything.

02 June 2011 offers to buy your FX
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Ikeja: USD 1 = NGN 156

Ikeja: EURO 1 = NGN 224

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It is obvious that career changes are easier when the new career has a low entry threshold (law to property development, medicine to hotel management, say; changes in the other directions would involve substantial sacrifices. . .); the key, then is to consider exactly what you do at the law firm, and what may be your potentials in your new career. Consider achieving qualifications for your new career while working at your regular job (or working reduced hours) if financial commitments will be a challenge.

Is it too late at 40? Probably not. Not to be morbid, life expectancy for Nigerian males is about 55 years; a career change could enhance life quality: it's notfun to be bored at40.

spyder: re your post #1460:

Roofing (and other building materials in the tropics) require a bit of thought, especially for energy-saving considerations; your post asks relevant questions. What we need in a roof is for it to be “cool”; and the coolness of a roof is measured by two properties: the thermal emittance and the solar reflectance of the roof. The one expresses the relative ability of the roof surface to radiate heat absorbed by the roof, and the latter expresses the fraction of solar energy that is reflected by the roof. There’s no way to avoid solar heat being absorbed by the roof and transferred to the building, but measures could be effected to minimize this. Insulation in the home (and the cost of air-conditioning) could be improved/reduced by a roof with high emittance and high reflectance.

At least one company in Nigeria has been moving towards this, achieving a “white roof” (it’s doubtful that green roofs could become popular in Nigeria, at least not at this time…). But, the stone time roofing needs to be scrutinized a bit: they’re certainly strong enough to withstand storms, and quite aesthetically pleasing. But are they the best with regards to energy considerations? Unless they’ve been specially treated, one is afraid this isn’t likely to be the case: stone tiles (as the ones on the roof of the pretty bungalow in the pictures) are good for climates like in Russia and close to the North pole and other wintry climes where sunshine isn’t always available, but the roof will most certainly increase the insulation load in a place like Lagos: higher ‘NEPA’ bills, plus a host of other ‘ungreen’ effects: adding to green house gas emisisons, adding to urban heat, and air quality reduction (among others). When spending a good sum, adding energy-saving considerations is marginally not a lot of work.

I wish we could discuss building homes that’re energy efficient; the roof is a major player here. But perhaps, a new thread will be needed for this?

Naijatech:

1) the parallel market is the black market

2) you misunderstand. . . the 'Mallam' offered to buy the dollar for N153 on 22 April. As things ended, another offered N154.

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